


Taming The Beast Within

by DarkLadyEris



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Basilisk(s), Bigotry & Prejudice, Child Abuse, F/F, F/M, Family, Gen, Healing, Hogwarts Third Year, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, M/M, Non-Graphic Violence, Protectiveness, Rewrite, Verbal Abuse, Violence, Werewolf Culture, Werewolf Healing, Werewolves, Wizarding World
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-25
Updated: 2017-01-29
Packaged: 2018-07-26 15:57:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7580674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkLadyEris/pseuds/DarkLadyEris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fenrir Greyback knew his lot in life, train under his father to be the next Alpha, however the sudden addition of one Harry Potter has thrown him for a loop. Can he learn how to juggle his pack responsibilities and his desire to study the strange human? Rewritten 7/24/2016.</p><p>Age-appropriate Fenrir.<br/>Fenrir Greyback is the son of the terrifying Romulus Greyback..<br/>Harry Potter is a fluff ball of adorableness and stubborn will.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Boy In The Woods

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite from a story posted under the same title on FanFiction, under the username Randomonia21. 
> 
> This is not beta'd so please don't get too mad at me for the grammar mistakes I've made.
> 
> Let me know what you think.  
> .

A howl sounded the chilly night air, causing many a creature to scurry into holes and hideaways, all in an attempt to escape the notice of the hunting, hungry predators. The wind whistled through the trees, eliciting shivers down the body of a man as he stomped through the forest, dragging a bundle behind him. "Useless freak," he muttered under his breath, using his pudgy right hand to pull his winter jacket in closer to his overweight body. "Can't do nothing right, can't even clean my car right, making a dent then blaming poor Dudley." Deep, gasping breaths from an overworked, obese body had him stopping a moment later in an attempt to catch his breath, his face a bright red from the exertion of the walk. Mr. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, was proud to say that he was perfectly normal, thank you very much, except for the boy. Mr. Dursley turned around, dropping the rope that was tied to the ankles of a young boy, who remained unconscious on the forest floor.

The older males blonde eyebrows furrowed as he looked around himself before giving a nod, "Good a place as any, I suppose." He finished zipping up his brown winter coat, in an attempt to fight the creeping cold. Dursley sniffed once, and sent a lazy kick to the boy before waddling back the way he came. He never noticed the shadows following him until it was too late and his screams of terror and pain echoed through the suddenly quiet forest. An answering howl of a triumphant hunt sounded the air, eliciting the other wolves on the hunt farther away to answer.

The soft creeping of a wolf's paws on the soft ground had the large predator, a dull salt and pepper color, move closer to the child left behind by the prey. With a shimmer, the fur began to disappear as bones snapped into different places and a man crawled in place of where the wolf once was. With the creaking of his worn bones, the man, scraggly and old with age and experience in life, walked to the boy, naked save for a pair of deerskin pants. His head titled to the side, letting greying black long hair fall with it as he looked over the child. There was a large cut on the side of the head, and the man took in a deep inhale, scenting the air, blood and bruises, old ones too. Poison as well, seemed to be mixed in his very blood. Another inhale had him scenting an underlying smell of dark, soul magic. A deep frown crossed his face, sending the boy a look, there was no way one so young had performed it, therefore, someone had performed it on him. Interesting, definitely interesting.

He tipped his head back and released a quick howl, hearing two answering howls immediately to his summons. A minute later had a russet wolf and a grey one jumping over the underbrush to his side. With shimmers of their own, they transformed from beast to man. The previously russet wolf bared his neck in quick submission before asking, "What can we do for you, Alpha?"

The older man spared them a slow glance before his eyes were drawn back to the boy who still remained unconscious. His frown furrowed even harder as the two other men turned to look at the boy as well. Being unconscious for so long with a head injury couldn't be good. "The child, we shall take him to the pack. Yven, carry him and bring him to your sister to be checked over immediately." With the order, the grey wolf-turned-man gave a sharp nod, walking forward before bending down to scoop the child up and running off to the north. "Todd, tell the others to bring the prey home to feast," A toothy, sharp grin transformed his mouth, "all of it."

A nod was the answer he received before the man shimmered into a wolf and disappeared the way he came. Alpha turned to look back at the spot the boy had laid, feeling curious on why he felt something change on the winds, as if telling him that things were about to get interesting. His silver eyes turned to look up at the new moon, shining brightly in the night sky. Oh yes, he could definitely see new things arriving with the appearance of the boy. Hearing the sounds of his pack beginning to move in the distance, Alpha followed the path Yven had taken, this time in human form.

It took another hour for the hunters to bring back the four deer and one human carcasses back to the hungry pack. It took all of Alpha's patience not to snap at the heels of a few of the pack members who tried to snatch a bite before their turn. He understood the hunger, they had traveled for three days non stop to the new location and it had taken another day of setting up perimeters and settling in, which by then, they had already been low on food. The fifteen or so pups played with each other in a never ending tag around the food and the hunters who had their fill first. A few delegated watchers kept a careful eye on them, least one wander off too far, though with the scent of blood and meat in the air, the Alpha highly doubted it at the moment.

He held back his own urge for food, knowing that his pack needed to eat, to fill their empty stomachs and he had other things to do first. Alpha walked away from the growing number of wolves and humans who waited to be fed. A tent in the middle of the camp was his destination and he could already see the outline of Serena in the firelight as she bustled around the tent. He stepped through the open doorway, taking a look around the room, noting the pelts on one side of the tent held an occupant, one who was curled up under a bear pelt. He gave a soft grunt, letting his medicine woman know he was there, finding a small amount of amusement as her subsequent jump in surprise. "How is he?" his voice rumbled in his throat, reminding him that he needed to go drink some water from the river when he had a chance.

The woman sent him a small glare at his scaring her, at fifty something years old, an Elder for his pack, he let her get away with small amounts of disrespect. She gave a small sniff in annoyance before walking over to the boy and hovering, "Better now but the bump was a nasty thing. What worries me most is his arm," she gestured to his right arm, where the scent of sickness and poison originated from, "badly infected and poisoned, I can't even tell what from but it's bad, something deadly did that and he has received no adequate care for it. It's magical, that's for sure, it stinks like magic. Poor boy is skin and bones, has been for a long time too." she paused to give him a small look, waiting for him to nod with permission to continue, once he did, she spoke, "Soul Magic, there is a scar, on his forehead, someone preformed dark soul magic on him. Can't tell what exactly but the boy is famous." She took a deep breath, "The wizards call him the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter."

"That revelation made his eyebrows rise in surprise as he sent another long look at the boy. "Potential?" he asked.

"Yes, once he is healed up and fed. He certainly wouldn't survive the bite now, or even in a month. A year or two maybe. Romulus," the Alpha turned to give her his attention. "The boy will be scared out of his mind when he wakes up, terrified even. Whoever he was living with, they were intending for him to die. I suggest you have your son talk to him, he won't be as intimidating."

Romulus Greyback, the Alpha of the Greyback family gave a short nod, having heard what she said before retreating into his thoughts. The only issue with having Fenrir speak to the boy first was that Fenrir was impulsive and didn't know when not to say something. Despite being a man of sixteen, he still had a lot of growing up to do and a lot to learn about being a leader. He gave a soft sigh, rubbing a hand over his beard. He better go talk to his son now before the kid disappeared to eat.

Romulus walked out of the medical tent, trusting the older woman to let him know should the boy awaken early. He walked back to the meat, passing by families sitting down together to eat, watching a little pup of three distract its sibling before stealing some of the others food. He let out a small chuckle, shaking his head with a soft smile on his lips. Alpha turned to where some of the young males had gathered to eat, easily noticing his own son, with a shiny head of silver hair who was tearing into his meat. "Fenrir," his voice rumbled in his throat, catching the attention of all the males who quickly tilted their heads in submission, baring their throats. "Come with me."

He didn't wait for his reply, instead, turning to walk to the river that flowed by the west side of their camp. His ears picked up the sounds of his son rushing after him, eager to obey. Once he ran up beside him, Romulus glanced over him, noting the sharpness of his face and the intimidating set of his eyes, all that he inherited from him. The softness of his mouth and the thin nose, he got from his beautiful mother, a fierce woman who had died defending her pack, an honorable death. "Serena is taking care of a boy, one that I wish for you to mentor when he awakens. He has good potential to be a wolf. I want you to erase any false ideas he has and let him know the truth. Win over his trust and do not roughhouse with him," he sent a sharp look in his sheepish sons direction, "he will be fragile for a while. If he has questions, answer them. He will be your responsibility, understand?"

His son, his flesh and blood, gave an eager nod, "Yes Alpha." When he received a wave in dismissal, he turned around and ran back to the boys, eager to tell them the situation. Alpha Romulus, licked his dry lips and continued on his way to the river for a drink of water.

\---------------------------------------------------------

Fenrir, a young man at sixteen, was excited. It wasn't often that his father picked up strays, but when he did, there was always something interesting about them. The last one, Jorah, had been a Warding Master before he was turned by a wandering loner, an omega who had been cast from his previous pack and had no control over his wolf. Jorah had taught them new warding to go around camp and had been vital to protecting them.

The boys, Richard, Samuel, Horus and Bartholomew, all turned toward him as he walked back to the group, eager for information. Two fallen logs were their chairs, with Richard and Samuel sharing one and Horus, Bartholomew and himself having the other. He flopped down into the spot he had vacated before leaning forward, eager to share the news. "Alpha found a stray, wants me to mentor him. He says that he has a lot of potential to be a wolf, but that I have to be super gentle," he said the word with distaste, humans were so fragile in comparison to wolves, "no roughing him up."

Samuel, a boy with a mean streak, gave a soft snort, "We can mess with him though," he gave a cruel smile, "play tag with him."

Fenrir gave him a stern glare in return, "I plan on obeying my Alpha, unless you would like to face his wrath." Tag for wolves was chasing each other down with one wolf delegated prey. They had to run until they literally couldn't run anymore, the whole point of the game was building endurance but often times, the smaller, weaker wolves were mocked and bitten at by the meaner ones.

Samuel averted his eyes, not willing to say anything else lest he get into trouble. Bartholomew slapped a hand on Fenrir's back, "Hey, at least you will get to something other than chores."

Richard groaned, "why did you have to remind us? Horus and I are on cleanup duty tonight after everyone finishes eating." Horus, ever the drama queen, threw himself onto Bartholomew, bemoaning his fate.

"You couldn't just let me live another twenty minutes in peaceful ignorance, could you?" Horus rested his hand dramatically on his forehead before Bartholomew pushed him off of his lap, sending the other to the ground. "How could you!" he faked gasped in outrage, sending the others minus Samuel who was still sulking, into loud laughs.

Fenrir stood back up, stretching his arms above his head before nodding towards the medicine tent. "If you need me, I'll be with Elder Serena." Waving his goodbyes, he walked the long way around the carcasses from dinner, not wanting to deal with a hungry wolf snapping at him if he came too close while they picked out what they wanted to it. It thankfully only took him a minute to walk around different living tents to reach the medicine tent, stationed exactly in the middle of the pack. Upon entering, his nose immediately crinkled in disgust, the smell of poison was overpowering, he could almost feel the nose hairs curling up and dying. "Elder," he greeted her, not able to hide the way his nose reacted to the smell.

She tutted at him, grinding some herbs together in a small wooden bowl as she sat on a pelt near a young boy. Fenrir crept closer, curious on who the boy was, while strays happened, it was rare and usually they were already wolves, not humans. He knelt down next to the Elder, taking note of how skinny he was, how his ribs stuck out even with a pelt on him. He frowned, "Elder, why is he so skinny?"

Serena turned her head slightly to look at him, pursing her lips in thought before deciding how to phrase it. "Do you remember the Galloway Pack?" At his blank expression, she huffed, "The pack with the alpha who wouldn't feed his people? Do you remember how skinny they were when we passed by while migrating? Their bones stuck out because of lack of food. Their alpha, their protector abused his right as leader and allowed everyone else to go hungry while his favorites and himself gorged themselves on food. Thankfully for the poor souls, someone managed to defeat him in battle and became the new Alpha." She paused, taking a moment in reconciliation before continuing, "The boy here, I'm guessing, wasn't fed or taken care of by his guardian. I would hazard a guess that the different meat brought," she jerked her head over by where the carcasses of deer and human remained, though not for much longer, "happened to be that guardian."

Fenrir's upper lip rose in disgust, glad that the Greyback wolves, a pack of actual wolves that had long since followed the Greyback werewolf pack, would be happily feasting on the human carcass. "Well at least we don't have to worry about taking care of him later on." The werewolf leaned forward, taking note of the boy's tan skin, the dark, fluffy and disorganized hair, and the softness of his face. Other than his cheekbones being refined, he had no masculine features to his face, probably hadn't even hit puberty yet he looked young. "When is he supposed to wake up?" he asked, reached out to not-so-gently poke at his arm, as if that would wake him.

He'll wake up when he is ready, of that I have no doubt." Serena gave a stern nod, before sending him a knowing look, "And don't even think about waking him up before he is ready." The young man grinned sheepishly before pulling his arm back, looking properly chastised.

"I guess now we play the waiting game?" He asked while watching her begin to lather a strong smelling concoction onto the pulsing, infection stab wound on the mystery boy's forearm. He certainly hoped for the boy's sake that he stayed unconscious until the medicine dried otherwise he was going to wake up from the awful smell alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I went through and changed the name lf the Alpha to make it a bit easier to follow, from Fenrir to Romulus. Thank you davidwv for pointing that out!


	2. Welcome to the Pack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry awakens and Fenrir gives a history lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My son decided that he was going to swallow a screw and then a few weeks later, a penny. Of which, we spent a lot of time in the childrens hospital. And then I decided to write with another person who was absolutely horrible and destroyed any motivation I had to write for a while. Finally, I was able to get enough written about that I felt comfortable posting. I'm really sorry about how long it took.

It was a long two days of sitting, pacing, and helping Elder Serena reorganize the Healer’s tent. Despite the superior healing and immunity of a werewolf, there were many times that the humans of the pack or even the occasional stupid werewolf that got hurt, which meant that they always kept the medicine tent stocked in case of an emergency. Fenrir felt thankful that he wasn't going to end up being a Healer’s assistant, as the past two days had been a long, endless experience of learning different healing properties of different plants, which he didn't care to learn about but had been unwilling to face the older woman's wrath for saying so.

He ran a hand through his shaggy silver hair, feeling irritated momentarily about being stuck in the tent, hardly able to leave in case the boy woke up. Fenrir glanced over at the stranger, a fever had snuck up the night before but had finally broken that morning. A look in the doorways direction to see the position of the sun had him estimating the time to be a little before midday. He almost wished he could shake the boy awake, though he knew if he tried, Elder Serena would give him such a tongue lashing, he probably wouldn't be allowed to do anything for several days without his ears ringing.

He licked his dry lips, running his rough, calloused hands on his jeans before picking up a box filled with containers of salves and pastes. He’d had to move about fifty boxes over to the storage tent after Elder Serena had finished making the medicine that could be stored. It took only three minutes to leave the Healer’s tent, after letting Elder Serena leave first, where she headed off into the woods with her usual assistant, Julie, to gather more herbs while he dropped the last box off and then headed back to the Healer’s tent, waving to Horus who was meekly following behind his mother, Iris, a fierce, dominating woman who stormed around camp, ordering around anyone she could find. Fenrir made a quick mental note to mention it to his father when he got the chance that Iris was acting up again.

When he stepped back into the tent, his eyebrows, thick and bushy as they were, rose as he noticed that the stranger was sitting up, looking so fragile as his thin chest took deep breaths, as if embracing the feeling of breathing. “Hullo,” Fenrir greeted him, trying his hardest to pretend he didn't see the way the boy flinched hard at his arrival, curling into as small of a space as he could so as to hide from notice. Unwilling to scare him more, Fenrir walked slowly over to the side of the makeshift bed before crouching down next to the boys mess of animals furs that littered the floor. “Glad to see you are awake.”

“Hello,” the boy breathed out, eyes wide. Fenrir noted the beautiful green that shone underneath the mop of shaggy, black hair. He had waited two days and those eyes didn't disappoint. The werewolf quickly cleared his throat, turning his eyes away from the stranger.

He gruffly replied, “How are you feeling? Need anything?” A quick dart of his eyes back in the boy's direction caught the slightest flinch. Deciding not to let the kid dwell on bad thoughts, Fenrir spoke up again, “Ah, water! You are probably thirsty by now.” He stood up, slightly wincing at the pop from his knee before heading over to the large bowl of water that rested on a table. He picked up a small cup, dipped it into the water before turning around and walking back to the kid and holding it out to him.

The kid looked at him, wary and cautious, a sense of distrust so strong, it made Fenrir want to go chew on a log in frustration. Apparently finding whatever it was that he was looking for, he gave a small nod of thanks before hesitantly reaching out for the water, as if still waiting for Fenrir to snatch it back and mock him. The werewolf did no such thing, waiting patiently as the cup was taken out of his hand by two frail, soft ones before lifted to pink, pink, pink, chapped lips and taking a sip. The boy closed his eyes, Fenrir guessed that he was relishing the cool, spring water against his parched throat.

Licking his own suddenly dry lips, Fenrir glanced away again. He cleared his throat, standing back up before rubbing his hands on his pants nervously again before deciding that his intimidating size might put off the kid and sat down hard on his butt, wincing slightly before giving his undivided attention to the boy his father had rescued. “I'm Fenrir, I've been helping take care of you while you were sick.”

The boy's eyebrows, as much as Fenrir could see behind the messy mop of hair, furrowed together in confusion. “I was sick?” his voice sounded raspy from disuse. “I'm… I'm Harry.”

Fenrir grinned, happy that he got a verbal reply. “Yeah, you had a massive puncture wound on your arm, it got infected and Healer Serena and I got you fixed up. Coulda been real bad too if you hadn't gotten help for it.” He nodded sagely, repeating the words that Elder Serena had said when she had begun healing the boy. “But we got you before that, so you should be feeling just fine in a day or so. Just need some food and more water and you'll be right as rain.”

“Oh,” it came out so softly that if Fenrir didn't have supernatural hearing, he would have missed it. “Thank you.”

Fenrir grinned wider, “It's no problem at all. Alpha is really into helping people out, and he hates seeing a puppy all hurt.”

The boy's eyebrows furrowed again, “Alpha? Puppy?”

Fenrir rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, he hadn't meant to blurt that out. “Yeah, don't freak out or nothing but you are the current guest of the Greyback pack.” At the boy's incomprehensive expression, Fenrir explain further, “We’re werewolves.”

“Oh.” The eyebrows rose high in astonishment, “I suppose since magic is real, I should have expected werewolves were too.” He gave a glanced around where he was at. “Are vampires real too?”

Fenrir’s upper lip rose in disgust before answering, “Yeah, arrogant and no self control. Unlike werewolves,” he puffed up his chest in pride, “Even during the full moon, we keep control of who we are, unless we take the Wolfsbane. Poisons the wolf inside, ya know? Once you start taking it, stopping can make you even more crazy than being on it, gotta flush it out of your system.”

“Crazy?” Harry asked quietly, his voice so soft spoken.

“Vampires created it as a way to try and trick Wizards and Witches and now loner wolves are usually forced to drink it to stay in society. It's why us Packs typically hang out outside of,” he waved a hand, looking for the word, “big cities. Forests give us more room to be free and away from the control grasp of the ministry.”

“Oh,” Harry replied quietly, eyes wide in surprise.

“Vampires spread rumors that werewolves were feral, made the public scared of us. So the ministry began making laws against us, in fear. It's all bullshit of course.” Fenrir scowled deeply before he rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, still pisses me off.”

Harry glanced at him, making eye contact before his gaze darted away again. He licked his lips nervously, “Why…” he cleared his throat when it came out dry and croaky. “Why, why would they do that?”

“The fangers,” he gave a nasty grin of that, filled with sharpened teeth, before he sobered up again, “they got upset by how powerful the packs were getting back in the fifteen-sixteen hundreds, packs were large and easily dominated in size and power over the covens. Well, from what the Elders have said, the Coven Leaders of the most powerful ten Covens in Europe got together and decided to destroy the werewolf packs in what is known as the Blood Moon Massacre.” The young werewolf paused a moment, his face darkening in thought before he continued, voice dropping as he recalled the horrors he had been told.

“They murdered innocents, the fangers went on a bloodbath. Women, children, humans. Anyone in their way was brutally slaughtered. Thousands of innocent werewolves were cut down. Only a few hundred were able to escape, but we were decimated. And now, because of them, we are being prosecuted for simply being alive.”

The young boy looked horrified, tears gathering at the corner of his eyes, “That's horrible, those poor people.”

Fenrir took a deep breath, trying to hold back the rage that always built inside of him whenever the topic was discussed. He gave a sharp nod, “Werewolves don't believe in harming innocents, especially children. Children are gifts from the Lady, and should be honored and treasured.”

Harry's eyebrows furrowed, “Lady?”

Fenrir visibly lit up, always happy to redirect his thoughts to the Lady, “Luna, our Goddess, she gifted us with the ability to be a wolf. If you would like, tonight at the Howl, I can ask our Elders to tell the Legend of the first Walkers.”

The young wizard looked away before giving a slight nod, glancing at the werewolf with a shy gaze. Fenrir grinned, “The Howl happens once a week, so you lucked out! It will be after dinner tonight, the pack will gather together and we listen to the stories that our Elders have to impart on us. Tonight, you will learn the history of our people.”


	3. The Goddess' Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry learns about how werewolves got their gift and he learns an important lesson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my laptop decided it wanted to completely break down and I got all of my wisdom teety removed so I rewrote this chapter while high on pills. So please excuse any misspellings or grammar errors.

The smoke from the dwindling fire pit stirred in the crisp, night air. Over seventy bodies huddled together around the fire, some in family units, other with friends. Harry sat awkwardly to the right of Fenrir, who was pointing out various members of the pack who had all gathered together. It wasn't going to be easy remembering a few let alone any at this point. “That guy with ashen-colored hair next to Regan, the hunter I told you about earlier, is Yven, he is the Beta under my father.” At this, Harry sent a questioning look his way and Fenrir was quick to explain, “Alpha is the leader of the pack, which is my father. Betas are the ones directly under him who lead when my father has other duties that take him away from the pack. Everyone else is generally considered in the same position after that though hierarchies do differ among family and friends.”

“Ah,” Harry replied quietly, looking around at the different people with wide eyes, noting how in the different family groups who ranked above who by their actions and who they differed to when spoken too. It was so strange and almost, calming, seeing the system in which respect was given and earned. Completely unlike the Wizarding World who were so backwards in everything. Here, it didn't matter your age or gender, but rather where you were in the chain of command.

“That woman, next to Yven is, Iris and her son Horus. Just steer clear from her as much as you can. She is still bitter that she lost the Beta fight to Yven and tries to order anyone around. If she snaps at you or tries to force you to do something, you come tell me or Healer Serena immediately. She is lower in the hierarchy than she'd like and she constantly has to be put in her place. But she is a good fighter so my father doesn't send her to a different pack.” Iris was a tall woman, with brisk features that seemed to stare down anyone who glanced her way. A high ponytail held her long hair away from her face and only seemed to enhance the bitter, angry look on her face. Her son, Horus, who sat slightly behind her, was the complete opposite of her in demeanor. A shy, nervous aura around him had Harry wincing in support, remembering how he always felt around Aunt Petunia.

“The Elders are the group sitting across from us. From left to right, there is Elder Anoki, Elder Law, Elder Serena, Elder Charles and Elder Eliza. They are the ones you respect right under the Alpha because of the knowledge and wisdom they hold. While the Alpha may lead, he listens to the advice of the Elders and when he gets too old to lead, he will become an Elder and I shall take over as Alpha.”

Harry turned to look at him with wide eyes, the firelight setting a glow to his messy hair. “Oh,” he murmured, blinking softly at the thought.

“Yeah, don't worry though, because it won't be for many years. Alpha Romulus is a strong and able Alpha. He is the Alpha of most of Great Britain, except for the land we share with the Irish and Scottish packs out of our alliance.”

“Alliance?” Harry curiously asked.

“Yeah, after the Blood Moon Massacre, several of the remaining packs got together and created an alliance, to protect each other. If a pack is attacked by any means, we will send any fighters available to support or if needed, evacuate pups out. It's basically an insurance plan against being wiped out.” Fenrir rubbed a hand over his face, he hated the thought of innocents being brutally murdered, especially pups. “For awhile, Hunters would come after pups during the Blood Moon Massacre and after it, slaughtering any they came across. Infants, toddlers, moms with pups in them. No one was safe.” Fenrir sighed softly, gazing into the fire that sparked and swayed. “Once the alliance was made, we were able to take down enough Hunters that they started leaving us alone for the most part. We still have to be careful because there are those who live to kill us.”

“That's absolutely awful!” The young wizard exclaimed, looking horrified at the idea. “How could anyone think that hurting children is okay?” He wrapped his arms around himself, a deep, sad frown on his face.

Fenrir gave him a soft smile, happy to know that he felt the same. “Now though, we are able to better protect ourselves from Hunters. We have many of us who were witches and wizards before being bit and they passed their bloodline along when they had kids. So they are able to help produce wards and protections around our home so we are safe. Those with negative or violent intents towards the pack are quickly removed from the vicinity.” His head jerked to the left, as did every other pack member as the Alpha entered the fire circle.

“Pack,” with the one word spoken, he had gained the attention of everyone as all of the different conservations quickly died. “Tonight, we listen to the words of the Elders, tonight we hear the story of the Goddess and how we were blessed. Tonight, we give our thanks for our wonderful gift and we learn about where we came from as well as where we are going.” He bowed his head softly in the direction of the Elders, giving them permission to begin before meandering throughout the pack members, running a hand over shoulders or grasping at an outreached hand, scent marking each other. He finally made his way over to his son and sat down to his left.

Harry sat still and silent, not wanting to draw attention to himself. He couldn't help his eyes from darting over in the Alpha’s direction, before jerking them in the direction of the Elders as the second one to the left stood, Elder Law. He was an elderly man, hunched over with long, grey hair. “The Goddess blessed us with the gift of the Change. Long ago, in the days when everyone lived in villages and were at war with each other, there were two very different villages. One was a noble village, who worked together to survive. The other, was a bloodthirsty village who raided and murdered others without any qualms. 

“The Goddess gazed upon the two villages for years, seeing what good and harm they both did to the world around them, and decided to gift the village who worked tirelessly to replenish the earth and keep peace between themselves. The village was called Lykos, and they worked together with a wolf pack that lived on the same grounds. The Goddess gifted the village with the ability to transform into a wolf, like those that they called brother and lived with. The villagers felt so honored by the gift that they left offerings to the Goddess to thank her for her generosity.

“The other village, Eshar, grew jealous of Lykos fortune and performed many rituals, hoping to gain a similar power or one even stronger. They warped their bodies to the point of craving the blood of other humans. They became disfigured, yearning nothing but death and blood. The once-people of Eshar, believed that it was Lykos fault that they became prey to their own misfortune and greed and decided to exact revenge upon the other village.

“The village of Lykos was attacked. They prayed to the Goddess for aid. The Goddess stared down at her people and lent them her strength. The Lykos were able to fend off the Eshar but it was the start of the bitter and bloody rivalry between Werewolves and Vampires.” Throughout the story, the Elder had waved his hands and with each motion, Harry had been sucked into the story, reliving it in his mind as if were truly there. The young wizard blinked in surprise, visibly drawing himself back. He could almost taste the blood of the Vampires on his tongue, could feel the thrum of magic in his veins, calling him to praise the Goddess for her gift.

Fenrir turned his head towards Harry and upon seeing his startled reaction, was quick to explain, “Elder Law has a gifted tongue, it's a hereditary gift passed down in older bloodlines. He is also to use his words to make almost like an illusion. You will feel like you are really there in the story. I forgot to warn you about that, sorry!” He grinned sheepishly, rubbing a hand against the back of his head bashfully.

Harry gave a slight smile at the unconscious action, it was nice having someone apologize for once instead of simply berating him for not knowing something (even something he couldn't have known beforehand). He didn't even realize that everyone had started talking again until Elder Anoki stood, creating silence once more.

“My pack,” he began, his voice strong and firm despite the frailness that his body looked, “sometimes we get caught in life's simple traps and it distracts us from what's truly important. We get distracted by drama, idle gossip, bitterness and greed,” at that word, Elder Anoki sent one firm, long stare in the direction of Iris, who seemed to color in embarrassment, “when what we should remember is that a pack divided does not last. A pack separated does not live. United we thrive.” He took a moment to stare down every member, cementing the lesson in their mind before sitting down.

Harry blinked in shock, folding his hands in his lap. It was definitely interesting and it gave him plenty to think about. Fenrir stood up, placing a hand gently on Harry’s shoulder, “I'll let you head to bed now, it's best not to stress yourself out too much too soon.” Harry watched as the rest of the pack disbursed from the fire circle, conversations low and quiet. He followed Fenrir back towards the Healer’s tent, in slight surprise as Fenrir led him past the tent he had woken up in, to a smaller one next to it. “This will be your tent as you heal. So feel free to organize and decorate it as you please. I took the liberty earlier of asking a few others to donate some pelts and furs for you to use. If you end up needing anything at all, just let me know.”

Harry gave a small nod in agreement, though silently thinking that he wasn't going to ask for anything at all extra. He already felt bothered by how generous they were already, and how much they had already done for him. He gave a small wave goodbye to Fenrir who left to presumably go to his own tent.

Harry waited a moment longer before pushing the door flap open and walking into the warm, lit tent. Despite the smaller size, it was comfortably big enough to allow several people to sit without feeling squished. There was a pile of an assortment of furs that looked rather comfortable. Other than that, the room was bare except for a small lantern which lit up the room. It was homey and roomy and while bare, Harry felt very comfortable in it. This was definitely a better situation than he had been in a few days ago.

**Author's Note:**

> Update 8/13/2016: I am working on the next couple of chapters. Ran into some horrifying personal problems that killed my spirit for a few weeks. I've since gained it back and I am working my hardest to produce something spectacular for your patience.


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